According to Elliptic, Ukrainian groups have received more than 15 million dollars incryptocurrencies since Russia attacked the country on February 24th. There are decentralized organizations that support Ukrainians. NFTs have been sold to raise money. The country's official account said it accepts a number of virtual currencies.
Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.
— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 26, 2022
BTC - 357a3So9CbsNfBBgFYACGvxxS6tMaDoa1P
ETH and USDT (ERC-20) - 0x165CD37b4C644C2921454429E7F9358d18A45e14
The old-fashioned way to make donations is through banks. In tech-savvy Ukranian, there is a quick and easy way to handle this money. Stable coin tether is supposed to be pegged to the US dollar. As of this writing, Ukraine is trading above the dollar at $1.10 because of high demand.
Illia Polosukhin, a Ukrainian co-owner of NEAR Protocol, says it's normal to have stacks of dollars in physical proximity. He has family in Kharkiv, which was being bombarded as we spoke.
Tether is particularly popular, partly because so many Ukrainians were used to working with the dollar as a reserve currency
More than 200,000 tech workers and an IT export business did $6.8 billion in volume last year, which is why Ukraine is known for its tech talent. Last year it passed a law regulating digital financial assets and providing fraud protection for Ukrainians. The gray area where people could transact was where companies and exchanges attracted the attention of law enforcement.
The country is ranked fourth on Chainalysis' GlobalCrypto Adoption Index and is home to about $8 billion of digital currency each year.
When Polosukhin was in Ukranian last year, he was surprised to see that there were many people who weren't working on the projects. He said that the popularity of tether is due to the fact that many Ukrainians used to work with the dollar as a reserve currency. The relative paucity of investment options was another factor. The only other way to invest is in the real estate market.
Since the February 24th invasion, many people have rallied around the country. The Bank of Russia has been pushing for a ban on cryptocurrencies, despite concerns that Russian companies may use them to evade sanctions. It favors the digital ruble. When the central bank of Ukraine suspended digital cash transfers and limited cash withdrawals, it became a viable option for making transactions.
“It really restores your faith in how people and community and technology can do so much.”
Messages of support for Ukraine have been sent by the international community. The invasion was a crime against Ukrainian and Russian people, added Vitalik Buterin. Nine people have to sign off on the funds being dispersed. Polosukhin is one of the signers. Polosukhin sent me a document with ways to donate.
It is not just Polosukhin. The power of web3 tech and community to raise funds was created by a member of Russian performance art group Pussy Riot. Do what you have to do.
Yev Muchnik, a Ukrainian-born lawyer who has lived in the US since 1988, has been working on a project with developers.
My Ukrainian credit cards don't work anymore. I'm safe physically in Kazakhstan, but all my savings are gone.
— ARTYOM FΞDOSOV (@usleepwalker) February 25, 2022
Crypto is the only money I still have, and today I can say without exaggeration that $BTC, $ETH, and #NFT are going to save my life while I can't come back home.
The missing link is trying to figure out what people on the ground need. She thinks that the use of the technology will make it easier to make sure that funds raised for Ukrainians actually go where they are supposed to. People in Ukraine are withdrawing money from their bank accounts in order to find alternative ways to pay.
Muchnik says that the collective coordination effort demonstrates how the public can benefit from the use of digital currency. She is working with people in Poland and Ukraine to verify organizations. Anything unused can be returned if the flow of funds is traced.
“It’s pretty, pretty scary, actually.”
Bankless, a media organization focused on cryptocurrencies, inspired Oleksii to create a Telegram channel about it. He told me from his home in the western part of the country that it exploded in popularity a year and a half ago. He says that Ukrainians are natural when it comes to coordination.
Even though there were no Russian troops nearby, he was too scared to leave his house. He was putting duct tape on the windows in his apartment before we spoke.
When we spoke on the 25th, things in the area were mundane, except for the empty shelves in big supermarkets, and a lot of people running around with suitcases. He feels less alone because of the outreach from the community.
Polosukhin's focus right now is on making sure that those in need are taken care of. It's easy to send it, but it's not easy for people to receive it if the internet or power goes out. When we spoke, Polosukhin wasn't sure when the mobile providers would fail. Cash was still the best strategy for those who had it.
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